University of Nebraska at Omaha. Melissa Myers University of Nebraska at Omaha. Student Work

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1 University of Nebraska at Omaha Student Work Does Protestant fundamentalism produce traditional views?: The impact of religious commitment affiliation on gender role beliefs and political ideology Melissa Myers University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Myers, Melissa, "Does Protestant fundamentalism produce traditional views?: The impact of religious commitment affiliation on gender role beliefs and political ideology" (1997). Student Work. Paper 335. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of For more information, please contact

2 DOES PROTESTANT FUNDAMENTALISM PRODUCE TRADITIONAL VIEWS? THE IMPACT OF RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT/AFFILIATION ON GENDER ROLE BELIEFS AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGY A Thesis Presented to the Department of Sociology and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha by Melissa Myers May 1997

3 UMI Number: EP72974 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP72974 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml

4 THESIS ACCEPTANCE Acceptance for the faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Committee Name Department/School L Q ju L ^ / Sd C f U U j y Chaimetson f t Dare

5 Abstract This research looks at the relationship between religious commitment/affiliation and traditional beliefs. Data from the 1993 General Social Survey is used to test hypotheses linking religious commitment and religious affiliation to traditional gender role beliefs and conservative political views. Findings show statistical significance but weak substantive support for the idea that fundamentalists hold more traditional gender role beliefs and political ideology. Future research linking these attitudes to the actual behaviors of men and women in fundamentalist religions is proposed.

6 Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank the members of my committee. I am thankful to Mark Rousseau, my thesis advisor, for his instruction. Fie provided me with valuable suggestions and read my drafts quickly, helping me to complete my thesis. He also gave reassuring comments when I needed support. I would like to thank Mary Ann Lamanna for giving me useful sources on my topic, and also providing detailed suggestions which greatly improved my final thesis. Bill Blizek was also a committee member. I thank him for being so flexible with his time and supporting me in my project. Dave Moore was a tremendous influence on my thesis project. The topic came from his Sociology of Religion course, and many discussions we had on fundamentalism and women. He also provided me with statistical guidance, not only through coursework but also working with me informally on my thesis. Most importantly, Dave was always able to boost my confidence in my statistical knowledge when I was in doubt. I am thankful for his guidance and for having faith in me. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. Mary Burbach was a wonderful friend during this project. She read drafts of the work, and provided moral support. Thanks for your help and friendship.

7 Table of Contents Chapter Page 1 Statement o f the Problem and Review of the Literature 1 Statement o f the Problem 1 Review of the Literature 4 Christian Fundamentalism and Modernization Theories 4 Gender Role Socialization 6 Fundamentalist Views of Gender 8 Myths o f the Traditional Family 11 Political Ideology 14 2 Research Design/Methodology 17 Hypotheses 17 Data 19 Indicators 19 Independent Variables 24 Dependent Variables 25 Control Variables 27 Interaction Terms 27 3 Data Analysis 29 Scale Validation 29 Findings 30 4 Discussion and Conclusion 44 Discussion 44 Limitations 47 Future Research 52 Conclusion 55 References

8 1 Chapter 1 Statement of the Problem and Review of the Literature Statement of the Problem In 1961 Gerhard Lenski wrote The Religious Factor, a study of the consequences of religious belief and practice in the everyday life of society. Believing religion to be generally ignored by social scientists, Lenski developed a study to test the idea that religious belief is an important factor in people's lives. Lenski found religious belief and practice to be of crucial importance, from both a religious and a sociological perspective. The basic finding of Lenski's work is that contrary to the expectations of nineteenthcentury positivists, religious organizations remain influential in contemporary society. The influence of religion operates at the social level as well as the personal level; it shapes the lives of people and institutions in society. While Lenski did not believe religion alone was enough to predict a person's position in society, he also argued no single variable exists which alone can predict the behavior of men and women. In looking at religion's relationship to gender role beliefs and political ideology, I would like to determine if religion remains a factor in determining social inequality today. Thirty-five years after Lenski published his study on religious beliefs in society, does religion continue to play an integral part in people's lives? Lenski published his work on the subject of religious influence in society with the hope that it might stimulate further research. I hope to add to the work done in this field of sociology. Lenski found the four major socio-religious groups he studied-white Protestants, Black Protestants, White Catholics, and Jews- to differ significantly from one another with respect to a wide range of phenomena affecting economic, political, kinship,

9 2 educational, and scientific institutions. These differences could not be accounted for in terms of the economic position of the individuals involved. I would like to study the differences among religious denominations with respect to gender role beliefs and political ideology, asking if religious influence has greater significance among participants in fundamentalist denominations. The focus of my research will be Protestant fundamentalists in the United States. The interaction of religious fundamentalism with gender role beliefs and political views is an interesting relationship. The political context of such a study certainly has a place in the contemporary politics of the family. Changing definitions of the family leave people ambiguous about acceptable gender role behavior. Fundamentalist religions provide clear-cut responses to any uncertainty people may feel. Fundamentalists often romanticize the past with a view of the traditional family as an ideal to return to. Fundamentalists do not merely wish to support the status quo, they hope to turn back the clock to a time when family politics was straight-forward and designated by what they believe to be Biblical roles. Religious fundamentalism may also be viewed in the theoretical context of modernization theories. Fundamentalists fight against modem criticism of the Bible and faith in science as the answer to questions formerly explained by religion. This confrontation of fundamentalism with modernity will provide a backdrop to the gender role beliefs and political ideology of the group. The methodology of this research is to analyze variables which influence people to accept traditional gender role beliefs and conservative political ideology. Past research has shown participation in fundamentalist religions leads people to follow a more traditional division of labor between men and women; a relationship where the man works outside the home and has the most authority, while the woman's primary duty is

10 3 taking care of the home and nurturing the husband and children. Involvement in conservative religious organizations also leads people to hold more conservative political beliefs. For this study, the independent variables I will examine are religious commitment and religious fundamentalism. The dependent variables in the study include gender role beliefs and political views. Socioeconomic status will be studied as a control variable. While I believe there are other variables which influence gender role beliefs and political ideology, I am limiting my analysis to the impact of religion on these variables, and how religious influence may change when controlling for socioeconomic status. The main questions I would like to study are: Does a person's religious commitment and affiliation influence him or her to accept traditional gender role beliefs? Does religious commitment and affiliation more strongly influence women to accept traditional gender role beliefs than an equal commitment and affiliation influence men? Are people with a strong religious commitment and a fundamentalist affiliation more conservative politically? Does religious commitment and affiliation more strongly influence women to accept a conservative political ideology than men? Will members of fundamentalist denominations be more likely to support traditional gender roles for men and women than members of other denominations when controlling for socioeconomic status? Will members of fundamentalist denominations be more likely to support a conservative political ideology than members of other denominations when controlling for socioeconomic status?

11 4 The sociological importance of these questions lies not only in the area of the sociology of religion but also within social inequality. If one ignores the religious factor in social inequality, one cannot answer many important questions about the status of men and women. Without locating all the variables influencing gender inequality, one cannot eliminate inequality and develop more egalitarian systems. I hope to illustrate the impact religion continues to play in creating unequal systems for men and women in the United States. Review of the Literature Christian Fundamentalism and Modernization Theories Hawley (1994) defines the most basic use of the term fundamentalism: fundamentalists are American Protestants with a militant desire to defend their religion against the onslaughts of modem, secular culture; their principal weapon is their insistence on the inerrancy of the scripture. Hawley describes fundamentalism as antimodernist in nature. While fundamentalists do not reject the technological advances of modem life, they do define themselves in opposition to certain aspects of modem culture. These include scientific naturalism, higher criticism of the Bible, and perceived changes in moral values. Fundamentalists do not merely detach themselves from certain trends in modem culture, they commit themselves to battle against those trends. Hawley says for fundamentalists, personal experience and Biblical inerrancy prove the truth of the Christian doctrine in the face of modem doubt. Fundamentalism develops in the face of social and economic problems that exist in modem industrial society. Fundamentalism is rooted in nostalgia for an earlier way of life. Hawley states that the earlier way of life was not the life of Jesus and of early Christianity, as it is often

12 5 portrayed, but of an idealized version of home and community life in the small towns of rural, nineteenth century America. Lechner (1993) argues fundamentalists view modernity as a corrosive force. Modem society places less significance on religious traditions, and makes a return to certainty difficult. Lechner sees fundamentalism as a form of antimodemism which aims to restore meaningful order on the basis of a sacred tradition. Fundamentalists use the Bible as a resource in their battle against modernity. Chalfant, Beckley, and Palmer (1994) also discuss the fundamentalist/modemist controversy. As the impact of science and the philosophy of skepticism began to permeate intellectual life, fundamentalists grew apart from more progressive Protestants. Higher criticism of the Bible by scholars inspired fundamentalists to organize against urbanization and the impact of science on Biblical truths. Ammerman (1991) describes Protestant fundamentalists as involved in active opposition to liberalism, secularism, and communism. One of the principle components of their belief system is inerrancy. Their unwavering faith'in an inerrant Bible allows fundamentalists to believe the Bible can be trusted to provide an accurate description of morality and religion, as well as science and history. This trust in the Bible leads them to attack modernity. Writers in the age of modernity believed a final stage would come where reason and philosophy would replace religion. The growing sense among fundamentalists was that if they did not stand up for their principles, they would not only lose the place of religion in their lives, but the nation might be lost forever. If they did not stand up to writers critical of the Bible and a government who followed this intellectual pattern, they may not have another generation of believers. Fundamentalists believed they must become active in saving their belief system and in effect saving the country.

13 6 One of the main ideas fundamentalists associated with modernity was secular humanism. Secular humanism is a belief system which lacks a concept of a transcendent god. Instead, meaning is placed on human life. Secular humanists believe people possess within themselves the capacity for truth and goodness. While there is no one standard definition of secular humanism among fundamentalists, there are many characteristics they attribute to this enemy. One form of secular humanism is the Equal Rights Amendment. Fundamentalists felt the ERA would prevent women from fulfilling their Biblical role as submissive wives. Taking prayer out of schools was seen as another humanist action against fundamentalists. Finally, the decision in Roe v. Wade seemed to represent all the forces seeking to destroy the family and the morality of society (Ammerman, p.40). Secular humanism represents for fundamentalists the ideological and cultural core of the institutions that have come to dominate society. Families are the basic units of civilization; any attack on the family, or giving power once held by the family to other institutions, is seen as coming from the enemy secular humanism of the modem age. Gender Role Socialization In order to study the role religion plays in gender role socialization, it is first important to discuss some of the fundamental assumptions about gender role socialization. Brown (1994) believes gender roles are the most basic building blocks of social organization. Gender roles are among the social distinctions children leam first, and remain important throughout one's life. By creating boundaries and stressing the differences between men and women, children, as well as adults, feel secure and able to manage their roles in life. Brown says keeping women under the control of men makes

14 7 the world seem more orderly and comprehensible. It is not surprising then that so much of the fundamentalist agenda focuses on defining the roles of men and women. McGuire (1992) discusses some basic gender role beliefs in our society. The definitions of masculinity and femininity are culturally established. On the basis of these definitions, a group develops and encourages certain differences between men and women. McGuire (p. 112) writes: In socialization, males and females are taught their culturally assigned gender roles- the social group s expectations of behaviors, attitudes, and motivations "appropriate" to males and females. Historically, religion has been one of the most significant sources of these cultural definitions of gender roles; and religion has been a potent legitimation of these distinctions. Religion is seen as playing a major part in learning one s gender role behavior. McMurry (1978) conducted a survey looking at the relationship between religion and sex role orientations. Based on a 1964 NORC sample, the findings suggest a substantial religious affect on sex role attitudes. Traditionalism in this study is defined as an attitude favorable to the idea that women's lives should be principally home- and family-centered. Religion promotes an ideology which sees the traditional family structure as part of the natural and moral order and possibly divinely ordained. Socioeconomic status does not explain the relationship between religious affiliation and traditionalism in this study. McMurry states there is no reason to believe that the religious factor has become irrelevant to sex role orientations. However, it should be noted again that McMurry's research was based on data collected in What was true of gender roles in 1964 may or may not apply in the 1990s. Smith (1990) studied 106 college undergraduates on measures of conformity to traditional gender role concepts, their gender identity, and their religious orientation.

15 8 Smith uses McMurry's 1978 study as a foundation for his study. General findings support socialization factors influencing gender identity. Religious socialization augments and reinforces other sources of gender socialization. Christian religious doctrine supports the retention of traditional roles and expresses this in the form of rules of conduct for men and women. Smith reports that for women, traditionalism increases with an increase in religious involvement. Those who are more religious can logically be expected to take their prescribed roles more seriously. A positive association connecting religiosity to traditionalism for both sexes was found. Smith's research provides support for McMurry's earlier findings of religious influence on sex role orientation continuing to apply today. In looking at this literature, one could ask if religion impacts gender roles, or if gender role socialization influences one's choice of religion. The socialization into religion and the socialization into one's gender role contain mutual influences. The relationship could be studied either way. I believe it is important to study the impact of religious influence of gender roles not only because the literature shows support for a religious impact on traditional beliefs, but as a way of viewing factors influencing gender inequality. Fundamentalists socialize their children to follow their value system. Religious choice is not just a reactive process; it plays a role in socialization and impacts the unequal position of men and women. Fundamentalist Views o f Gender Chalfant, Beckley, and Palmer (1994) state that religion as an institution has served to legitimate women's subordinate status within the larger society and its institutions, particularly the family. Traditional translations of the Bible, read literally, sanction the low status o f women with both its language and symbolism, often portraying

16 9 men in leadership roles and women as servants or in a domestic role. Both the Bible and early Christian theology contain a strong bias toward a subordinate position for women, a sexist bias that is now deeply woven into the subcultural fabric of nearly all Christian groups. Balmer (1994) writes about the ideal of femininity in American fundamentalism. For fundamentalist women, identity is tied almost exclusively to motherhood and female domesticity. Women need to follow a Biblical literalism in their roles with their husbands in order to be what God intended them to be. Paradoxically, women are then to find a kind of liberation in this submission, knowing they are following their Biblical roles. Research on participation in the women's movement and involvement with the Equal Rights Amendment is another way of studying gender views among fundamentalists. Hargrove, Schmidt, and Davaney (1985) state that for some groups the women's movement is a direct violation of accepted religious norms. These predominantly fundamentalist religious groups consider the earliest form of the dominant wage-earning husband and the full-time homemaking, and church volunteering, wife and mother to be instituted by God. Patterns that would grant full equality to women are attacked as irreligious. Brown (1984) studied the characteristics of women who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. Religion played the predominant role in these women's lives. Brown's research shows that of all the anti-feminists in her study, 96% replied that religion is a very important part of their lives. People in the Anti-ERA movement attribute their activity to the belief that they are helping to save America from God s wrath. Their commitment is also based on a Biblical interpretation taught by their pastors and religious leaders. Fundamentalists distinguish themselves from more liberal

17 10 religious groups by believing in a literal interpretation of the Bible, a Bible they believe to be inerrant. Brown says this belief in Biblical inerrancy is the key to decision-making about relationships in the home, about church governance and the conduct of church services, and about everyday life. Using data from the 1985 and 1988 General Social Surveys, Peek, Lowe, and Williams (1991) studied religious fundamentalism and sexism. These authors report that for women, sexism is related to fundamentalist personal beliefs rather than to fundamentalist affiliations. For men, the opposite occurs: sexism is related to fundamentalist affiliations rather than to personal beliefs in the literalness of the Bible. Taking the definition of fundamentalism as an insistence that the Bible is literally true, Peek, Lowe, and Williams find that people associated with more fundamentalist denominations generally display more inegalitarian attitudes toward women than those in less fundamentalist groups. At the center of this cultural bias is the Bible, which portrays men as leaders but women as followers and in traditional family roles. Findings of this study show a strong connection between individual beliefs in Biblical literalism and opposition to women's equality. Among women, individual but not group fundamentalism is associated with sexism. Women who do not follow the word of God as the absolute truth are more egalitarian about their gender roles. Women's personal religious beliefs rather than the large religious groups with which they are affiliated are related to their gender role attitudes. The opposite occurs for men. These authors conclude their study with the statement that gender needs to be a basic category within theories of religion. Another study examining the effects of religion on preference for a patriarchal family was conducted by Grasmick, Wilcox, and Bird (1990). This analysis revealed a strong positive direct effect of adherence to a fundamentalist doctrine on support for the

18 11 patriarchal family. The effect of religious fundamentalism was greater than the effects of education, gender, family income, head of household occupational prestige, subjective class identification, race and rural background. Grasmick, Wilcox, and Bird repeat support for the link between adherence to a fundamentalist religious doctrine, rooted in a literal interpretation of the Bible, and traditional views o f gender roles. Myths of the Traditional Family One form of nostalgia among Christian fundamentalists is the belief in traditional family forms, with specific gender roles for men and women. Fundamentalists describe the family as if one stable and harmonious family type existed in the past, a form which was beneficial to all members of society. But many authors describe the image of the monolithic family form described as the traditional family as being a social construction. Coontz (1992) writes about the idealized image of the family. Coontz says many of our memories of traditional family life are myths. The image of the 1950s traditional family with its deep roots in the past was not an accurate portrayal of family life. This family style was new, supported by the newfound prosperity of the nuclear family. Lacking roots in tradition, the 1950s family was also not as homogenous as many would have us believe. Not all families shared in the consumer expansion, and the media often ignored the views and family styles of minorities. Another problem with the idealized picture of the traditional family is the idea that everyone benefited from clearly defined roles for men and women. Women often did not freely choose housewifery as an occupation. The problem with a return to the traditional family is that women would not merely maintain the status quo, they would lose ground Coontz (p.40) writes:

19 12 The legitimacy of women's rights is so widely accepted today that only a tiny minority of Americans seriously propose that women should go back to being full-time housewives or should be denied educational and job opportunities because of their family responsibilities. When people call for a return to the traditional family, then, what they are really calling for is a return to the Victorian notion of separate spheres for men and women. The rigid division of labor between men and women in the nineteenth-century middle class was unambiguous. Within this family there were no contradictory messages about what men and women were to do. Mothers were considered the moral guardians of civilization, and men were the protectors of their families. Men had the final authority in matters both within and outside the household. Fundamentalists find Biblical bases for their conviction to put men at the head of the household, for women to be confined to subservient roles, and for children to be taught conformity to moral standards. Coontz (p.44) says gender roles and family ideals associated with the Victorian era are far from natural and have not always existed. Attempting to reimpose domesticity on women without rethinking the role of individualism in our economy and polity would only recreate the same tensions that undermined the Victorian family in the first place. Blaming society's ills on the family oversimplifies the issues and leads to a scapegoating mentality that is unfair and unhelpful. In a qualitative study of women involved in fundamentalist religions, Stacey (1990) looks at views of the family and nostalgia for the modem family form. Stacey (p.251) says the "modem family" was an oxymoronic label for the family institution which dispensed modernity to white, middle class men only by withholding it from women. Men could enter the public realm because they had designated their wives to the newly privatized family realm. Ruled by an increasingly absent patriarchal landlord,

20 13 Stacey (p.252) says the modern, middle-class family, a woman s domain, was sentimentalized as "traditional". A main goal of Stacey's work is to shatter the image of modem American family life. The social and material conditions that led to the rise of the modem family are long gone. It is an error to portray this form of family life as the Biblical family. What is often described as the traditional American family was the result of particular social and economic conditions in history. Stacey says there is little evidence to suggest that most families wish to return to the gender roles symbolized in the Ozzie and Harriet style traditional family. Most are working to create new family forms. The contemporary, or postmodern, family is diverse and fluid. A wide range of gender and kinship relations exists in families today. Many people are uneasy about such an ambivalent family structure, and seek clarity about the family. In speaking to women involved in fundamentalist religions, Stacey talked with one pastor about the relationship of men and women espoused by the fundamentalist church. His answer was a traditional relationship, but one described not as the domination of one person over another, but of equality. The man is the head of the household, and therefore has more responsibility than the wife. But he is not to dominate her. The pastor stated that wives are to submit to their husbands as we submit to Jesus. She submits with love and trust, knowing the husband is to love his wife as his own body, and as Jesus loves us. These women do not feel they are doormats, but instead believe giving their husbands increased responsibility will lead to a better marriage. However, this pastor also believes that the Bible is the word of God, and must be followed. The pastor (p.74) said "the Bible is pretty clear-cut; it's not wishy-washy if you're a fundamentalist". Another church leader in Stacey's study described gender roles by saying that submission is not subjection, but more an attitude of teachability. Authority is a

21 14 responsibility. An interesting finding was that this particular church leader read the Bible as selectively as do other religious faithfuls. The point is that fundamentalists do believe in the word of God stated in the Bible, but qualitative studies can bring out the ways in which these women find acceptable interpretations of these teachings. Fundamentalists believe in the authority of the Bible and in its usefulness as a practical guide to the conduct of everyday life. Yet the fundamentalist women Stacey interviewed recognized the conflicting influences in their lives. Political Ideology Dudley, Hernandez, and Terian (1992) studied conservative religious groups and politics. Historically, Protestants have been more likely to vote Republican, and Catholics and Jews to vote Democratic. Lenski (1961) also found white Protestants to be the strongest supporters of the Republican party. They were the only group with a Republican plurality. Although other factors are known to influence voting patterns, such as social class, religion does appear to have an impact. Dudley, Hernandez, and Terian find a substantial relationship between religion and politics among conservative Christian groups. Support for Biblical literalism was shown to be related to political conservatism. Living in a world of rapid change in technology, social arrangements and values, many turn to the church as the one institution capable of preserving the order and stability in their lives. It is expected that those Christians that hold the most Orthodox beliefs, including a Biblical literalism, will be the most conservative politically. Rose (1993) found similar results in a study of two religious communities. Evangelicals, often those associated with the Christian Right, tend to oppose any legislation that would undermine the traditional, patriarchal family. Members of the

22 15 Christian Right define men as the natural leaders of the family, church, and nation. Women are to submit to their husbands, and husbands are expected to love and provide for their wives. They believe that this hierarchical ordering of relationships reflects God's natural order. If this is disrupted, the family, and in turn society, will fall apart. Members of the Christian Right have lobbied against legislation in favor of women's and children's rights, shelters for battered women, mandatory child abuse reporting, and family planning clinics. They supported the Family Protection Acts of 1981 that sought to deny federal funding of educational materials that in any way diminished the traditional sex role norms as historically understood in the United States. Hargrove (1989) discusses the interrelationship of religious and political institutions. Religion justifies and reinforces the values of society. These values are then translated into political behavior, such as voting and participating in political campaigns, as well as involvement in special interest groups. Religion serves more than one function for its adherents. The source of beliefs religion influences includes political beliefs. Jost (1994) discusses the place the Christian Right will have in the future of American politics. Jost says religion has always been an important factor in American political life. Despite the separation of church and state, religion continues to play a role in politics. Discontent with religious indifference in society and discomfort over the impact of science and economic materialism on traditional faith, fundamentalists are often involved in certain issues and campaign for candidates they believe will support their stance. As for political roles for women, Chalfant, Beckley, and Palmer find support for a less traditional role for women in the world of work and politics is higher among liberal Protestants, Jews, and nonaffiliated Americans than it is among Catholics and conservative Protestants. Fundamentalists who believe in a literal interpretation of the

23 16 Bible are especially likely to believe that a wife's submissiveness and obedience to her husband express the will of God. Conservative religious groups oppose gender-related issues they perceive as a threat to traditional family roles and stability. The religious political right, in conjunction with the secular political right, has molded this religiously based opposition into direct political action. These authors believe Protestant fundamentalism and evangelicalism remain a force in the religious, social, and political life of the United States. In summary, many studies support the idea that religious commitment, and a fundamentalist orientation, lead people to follow more traditional gender roles. Fundamentalist groups are mainly defined by their literal interpretation of the Bible. These groups are also shown to be more politically conservative and less supportive of women in politics or any role not perceived to be divinely ordered. Using the General Social Survey as a data base, I will examine whether these results remain true in contemporary American society.

24 17 Chapter 2 Research Design/Methodology Hypotheses The review of the literature illustrated that a strong religious commitment leads to a traditional ideology with respect to gender roles and political views. Religious affiliation was also important, with Protestant fundamentalists holding the most traditional gender role beliefs about appropriate behaviors for men and women. Fundamentalists were also shown to be more politically conservative in the literature cited. Some authors have also alluded to the importance of studying differences between the sexes in their formation of gender role attitudes and political ideology based on religious commitment and affiliation. Based on and adding to the existing literature, I developed ten hypotheses; five relating to religion and gender roles, and five relating to religion and political ideology. Using the independent variables religious commitment, religious affiliation, and religious fundamentalism, and the dependent variables gender role beliefs and political ideology, I will study the following hypotheses: Hypotheses Studying the Relationship Between Religion and Gender H I: The stronger one's religious commitment, the greater one's belief in traditional gender roles for men and women. H2: Protestant fundamentalists are more likely to support traditional gender role beliefs than other religious affiliations.

25 18 H3 : Protestant fundamentalists are more likely to support traditional gender roles for men and women than other religious affiliations when controlling for socioeconomic status. H4: Religious commitment has a greater impact on gender role beliefs for women than for men. H5: Religious affiliation has a greater impact on gender role beliefs for women than for men. Hypotheses Studying the Relationship Between Religion and Political Ideology H6: The stronger one's religious commitment, the more conservative one's political ideology. H7: Protestant fundamentalists are more likely to support a conservative political ideology than other religious affiliations. H8: Protestant fundamentalists are be more likely to support a conservative political ideology than other religious affiliations when controlling for socioeconomic status. H9: Religious commitment has a greater impact on political ideology for women than for men.

26 19 H10: Religious affiliation has a greater impact on political ideology for women than for men. Data For this project I will use quantitative analysis of data derived from the 1993 edition of the annual General Social Survey. This data set was selected because it contains variables describing religious commitment and affiliation, religious fundamentalism, socioeconomic status, gender role attitudes, and political beliefs. Randomly selected adults are interviewed to compile the data set. Interviews for the General Social Survey are conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The 1993 sample contains 1606 completed interviews. These interviews have been complied into an SPSS system file. The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut distributes the SPSS system files. Indicators Many GSS indicators are available to measure the variables in my hypotheses. The variables I am studying include: religious commitment, religious affiliation, religious fundamentalism, political ideology, gender role beliefs, sex, and socioeconomic status. The indicators in the 1993 General Social Survey that are used to operationalize each of these concepts are listed below. The labels in bold refer to the indicator names in the GSS code book. I will use multiple indicators whenever possible to reduce error and increase reliability.

27 20 General Social Survey indicators: Religious Commitment ATTEND (religious service attendance): How often do you attend religious services? More than once a week Every week Nearly every week 2-3 times a month Once a month Several times a year Once a year Less than once a year RELITEN (strength of religious commitment): Would you call yourself a strong or a not very strong Strong Somewhat strong Not very strong PRAY (frequency o f prayer): About how often do you pray? Several times a day Once a day Several times a week Once a week Less than once a week

28 21 Religious Affiliation R E LIG (religious affiliation): What is your religious preference? Protestant Catholic Jewish Fundamentalism FUND (fundamentalism): How fundamentalist is your religion? Fundamentalist Moderate Liberal Gender Role Beliefs FECHLD (working mother's bond with child): A working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work. Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree FEH ELP (wife help husband's career): It is more important for a wife to help her husband's career than to have one herself. Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

29 22 FEPRESCH (condition of preschool child when mother works): A preschool child is likely to suffer if his or her mother works. Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree FEFAM (man should work outside the home, woman inside the home): It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family. Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Political Ideology PO LVIEW S (political ideology): The following is a seven-point scale on which the political views that people might hold are arranged from extremely liberal to extremely conservative. Where would you place yourself on this scale? Extremely liberal Liberal Slightly liberal Moderate Slightly conservative Conservative Extremely conservative Sex Are you: Male Female

30 23 Socioeconomic Status CLASS (subjective social class identification): If you were asked to use one of the four names for your social class, which would you say you belong in? Lower class Working class Middle class Upper class EDUC (education completed): Highest year o f school completed. Scores range from 0-20 INCOM E (total family income): In which of these groups did your total family income fall for last year? Under SI,000 $1,000-2,999 $3,000-3,999 $4,000-4,999 $5,000-5,999 $6,000-6,999 $7,000-7,999 $8,000-9,999 $10,000-14,999 $15,000-19,999 $20,000-24,999 $25,000 or over In terms of relationships among the variables, I expect a strong religious commitment/affiliation will lead people to hold more traditional gender role and political beliefs. I anticipate religion to influence women's beliefs more strongly than men's. I also expect to find that socioeconomic status does not play as large a role in determining attitudes among fundamentalist respondents as religious commitment/affiliation.

31 24 Independent Variables The independent variables in this regression analysis are religious commitment, religious affiliation, and religious fundamentalism. Religious commitment is measured by frequency of church attendance (General Social Survey indicator ATTEND), respondent's subjective identification on the strength of their religious commitment (RELITEN), and frequency of prayer (PRAY). In order to measure religious affiliation and fundamentalism, dummy variables are created. The GSS indicator RELIG is used to measure religious affiliation, and the indicator FUND is used to measure fundamentalism. The responses to these indicators are as follows: Religious affiliation: RELIG 1 = Protestant 2 = Catholic 3 = Jewish Fundamentalism: FUND 1 = Fundamentalism 2 = Moderate 3 = Liberal

32 25 These indicators were used to create the following dummy variables: FUNDP (Fundamentalist Protestants) FUND 1 and RELIG 1 MODP (Moderate Protestants) FUND2 and RELIG1 LEBP (Liberal Protestants) FUNDS and RELIG 1 CATII (Catholics) JEW (Jewish respondents) RELIG2 RELIG3 Dummy variables for religious affiliation and fundamentalism are described as follows: FUNDP MODP LIBP CATH JEW Fundamentalist Protestants Moderate Protestants Liberal Protestants Catholics Jewish Respondents Dependent Variables The dependent variables in this study are gender role beliefs and political ideology. The political ideology variable comes straight from the GSS indicator POL VIEWS, which consists of the following seven point scale of liberal to conservative responses.

33 26 POL VIEWS (political ideology): 1 = Extremely liberal 2 = Liberal 3 = Slightly liberal 4 = Moderate 5 = Slightly conservative 6 = Conservative 7 = Extremely conservative There are four indicators from the General Social Survey used to measure gender role beliefs. The variable GENDER1 was created as an additive index of responses to the four statements on gender roles. FECHLD (working mother's bond with child) was first recoded as follows: FECHLD: A working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work. Previous coding: 1 = Strongly agree 2 = Agree 3 = Disagree 4 = Strongly disagree Recoded: 1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Agree 4 = Strongly agree Since the wording on this question made a response of 1 (strongly agree) the least traditional lesponse on gender role beliefs, and the other three questions had a response o f 1 representing the most traditional response, the responses were recoded to allow for

34 27 analysis of all four indicators together. GSS indicators FECHLD, FEHELP, FEPRESCH, and FEFAM are then added together to create the variable GENDER 1. The responses for GENDER 1 now range from four to sixteen, with the higher number the response, the least traditional gender role beliefs. Control Variables Socioeconomic status will be used as a control variable in this study. In looking at previous research and indicators available from the General Social Survey, I included the variables subjective social class identification, educational level of respondent, and income. The GSS indicators CLASS, EDUC, and rncome are each studied separately as a measure o f socioeconomic status. Interaction Terms To test the hypotheses of religious commitment and affiliation having a greater impact on women than men for both gender role beliefs and political ideology, I created interaction terms. SEX was used as the indicator, and the dummy variable FEMALE was first created to differentiate males from females: SEX 0 = male 1 = female FEMALE SEX = 1

35 28 Fot religious commitment, the following interaction terms were created: FATTEND (religious service attendance among females) = FEMALE * ATTEND FPRAY (frequency o f prayer among females) = FEMALE * PRAY FRELITEN (religious commitment among females) = FEMALE * RELITEN For religious affiliation, the interaction terms are: MFEMALE (Moderate Protestant females) = MODP * FEMALE LFEMALE (Liberal Protestant females) = LIBP * FEMALE CFEMALE (Catholic females) = CATH * FEMALE JFEMALE (Jewish females) = JEW * FEMALE The above variables will be used in multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses I have proposed. I will begin with a factor analysis of the variables measuring religious commitment and the variables measuring gender role beliefs to ensure each indicator chosen is measuring the concept I plan to study. I will follow the factor analyses with a regression equation for each of the hypotheses.

36 29 Chapter 3 Data Analysis Scale Validation Before setting up equations for multivariate regression models, I first ran factor analyses to ensure the indicators I was using for the concepts religious commitment and gender role beliefs were appropriate. First, I ran a factor analysis on the indicators chosen to measure religious commitment. This factor analysis had the following results: Religious Commitment Factor Loadings: Factor 1 ATTEND RELITEN PRAY The factor analysis for the gender role belief indicators resulted in the following: Gender Role Beliefs Factor Loadings: Factor 1 FEFAM FEPRESCH FEHELP FECHLD.74843

37 30 The results of these factor analyses show the variables loading strongly onto one factor. These variables are shown to measure the concepts of religious commitment and gender role beliefs I wish to study. I also feel confidant that creating the additive dependent variable GENDER 1 is an appropriate way to measure gender role beliefs. Findings The next step of my data analysis involved running appropriate regression equations to test the hypotheses constructed for this study. In this section, I will list each hypothesis separately, and show the results of multivariate regression analysis for each. The first five hypotheses examine the influence of religious commitment and affiliation on gender role beliefs. In the first hypothesis, I want to test if a strong religious commitment leads to more traditional gender role beliefs. HI reads: The stronger one's religious commitment, the greater one's belief in traditional gender roles for men and women. The first regression equation uses GENDER 1 as the dependent variable, with the independent variables ATTEND, PRAY, and RELITEN. This regression equation resulted in the following data: Religious Commitment and Gender Role Beliefs B SigT ATTEND PRAY RELITEN (Constant) Full Model R SigF.0000

38 31 In looking at this regression equation, the full model is significant. Each of the individual indicators measuring religious commitment are statistically significant. We can conclude that religious commitment does lead to more traditional gender role beliefs, though it is not a strong relationship. Since the regression coefficients are positive, as the score for religious commitment gets larger, the score for gender role beliefs also gets larger. Due to the coding of these variables, this supports the relationship proposed in the hypothesis that a strong religious commitment leads to more traditional gender role beliefs. The second hypothesis (H2) says Protestant fundamentalists are more likely to support traditional gender role beliefs than other religious affiliations. This regression equation was set up with GENDER 1 as the dependent variable, and the dummy variables for religious affiliation-modp, LIBP, CATH, JEW-as independent variables. Fundamentalist Protestants are the constant in the regression equation. This equation provided the following results: Religious Affiliation/Fundamentalism and Gender Role Beliefs B SigT MODP LIBP CATH JEW (constant) Full Model R SigF.0264

39 32 Again, the full model in this regression equation is significant. The individual independent variables CATH and JEW are also significant. This says that Catholics and Jews are significantly different from Protestant fundamentalists in their gender role beliefs. In looking at the scores on gender role beliefs (B), we see that fundamentalists are the most traditional in their gender role beliefs. The other affiliations have a positive score that, when added to the score of Protestant fundamentalists (the constant), has a higher score on the gender role beliefs response. A higher score represents less traditional beliefs. The hypothesis stating religious affiliation/fundamentalism leads to more traditional gender role beliefs is supported. In the above equation measuring the support for traditional gender roles among various religious affiliations, Catholic responses are not identical, or even closest to, the responses of moderate Protestants. Many studies of religious variables group Catholics in with moderate Protestants, which these findings indicate may be problematic. This is a topic I will bring up again in the discussion section. Next, hypothesis three (H3) says Protestant fundamentalists are more likely to support traditional gender roles for men and women than other religious affiliations when controlling for socioeconomic status. This hypothesis will be tested using block variable regression. The dependent variable in the full model is GENDER1. Independent variables include MODP, LIBP, CATH, JEW, CLASS, EDUC, and INCOME.